


genuine

by magicianprince



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 10:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/836126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianprince/pseuds/magicianprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You should take off your mask around camp,” Inigo suggests, and Gerome mentally tallies it as the thirty-third time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	genuine

“You should take off your mask around camp,” Inigo suggests, and Gerome mentally tallies it as the thirty-third time.

“No,” he says, which is all he ever seems to say around Inigo. This is not how one should have to act around royalty.

“Why not? We’re your comrades. It’s silly to hide your face around us.”

“Look, as soon as you take off yours, I’ll take off mine,” says Gerome, and instantly regrets it.

Inigo looks surprised for a moment and then grins, showing all his teeth. “Wow, that was pretty deep, Gerome.”

“Leave me alone.”

“I’ll try it,” Inigo informs him, “and after, say, a couple days, you have to take off the mask. Deal?”

“Absolutely not,” Gerome says.

“Great! See you tomorrow, then—“

:

“I’m worried about Inigo,” is the first thing Lucina says to him the next day, which means that Inigo is actually serious about not hitting on every girl he sees for a while. Gerome has been in his tent all morning checking his weapons and Minerva’s gear; he’s glad that he missed the awkward confusion that must have swept the camp when the prince of Ylisse started acting like a normal person.

“What’s wrong with him?” Gerome asks. Even if he already knows, Lucina clearly came to him so that she could air out her fears. He’s honored despite himself that she would come to someone like him for that.

“He’s acting….well, I’ll show you,” she frets, and exits his tent without another word.

Stepping outside, Gerome spots Chrom and Olivia immediately, standing close together outside of Chrom’s tent. They both seem uncomfortable, but not upset. Gerome snorts quietly—if Olivia had seemed distressed by the sudden change in his character, Inigo would have gone back to his usual self in less than a second.

Lucina is heading towards the dining tent with brisk steps, and Gerome matches her pace to walk beside her. As they reach the entrance, she takes a breath and pulls open the flap.

It’s completely silent.

The silence would not be unusual, except that this is the time that most of the army eats lunch, and at least more than half of them are seated inside, meal in hand. The only person that glances up when Gerome and Lucina enter is Inigo himself. The rest of the people inside are staring pointedly at their food.

Gerome counts the number of girls around Inigo (one, two, three, four, all left unbothered) and sighs.

Lucina leans over to speak softly in his ear. “I think most of them would have left already, but they’re worried and want to be there if he needs anything.”

And that’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it?

Inigo has a habit of making himself a nuisance, but he’s a part of their lives, and once you’ve spent enough time around him it’s easy to figure him out. Without the flirty words and smiles, he seems lonelier than ever. Gerome can’t remember talking to him much in the future. He almost wishes he had.

Cynthia, sitting across from Inigo, drops her fork on the ground with a thud. Inigo fetches it for her wordlessly, handing it over without even a charming grin.

“Thanks,” she says, startled.

“You’re welcome,” Inigo replies politely, and goes back to his food.

The tent is mostly empty by the time Lucina and Gerome finish eating. As soon as Inigo leaves, Lucina sets down her spoon and looks Gerome dead in the eye.

“Did something happen to him?”

“Why do you think that I would know that?” Gerome asks, taken aback. Severa, two seats away from him, snickers loudly.

“You two are close,” Lucina says, as if it’s obvious.

“No, we’re not,” says Gerome. Lucina gives him a long, steady, look. “I’ll talk to him,” concedes Gerome.

He spends the afternoon with Minerva, avoiding the rest of the army (and especially Inigo, if he’s truthful). After the sun has almost completely set, Minerva lands in a clearing near camp and cranes her neck to stare at him pointedly. “First Lucina, now you,” Gerome complains, and goes to find Inigo.

He’s not in his tent, and no one Gerome asks has seen him, and so the only viable place left is the lakeside he’s been going to to dance for the week they’ve been camped out at this location. Inigo is sitting with his boots off and his feet dangling in the water when Gerome finally finds him. The scene is peaceful; Gerome slides off his own shoes and settles down next to Inigo, feet just barely touching the water.

“What’s the point of taking your shoes off if you’re not going to put your feet in?” Inigo asks, seeming exasperated, and reaches a hand over to shove at Gerome’s knees until he relents and relaxes.

“You’re making everyone worry,” Gerome tells him.

Inigo offers him a wry smile. “What, are you telling me to ‘put on my mask again’, as you would say? Sorry for making everyone miserable.”

“No,” Gerome says, and sort of enjoys Inigo’s open astonishment, “I’m just saying that you should tell your sister that there’s no need to come find me and ask if something’s happened to her little brother.”

The soft look Inigo gives him makes him uncomfortable, and he’s gladder than ever to be wearing a mask. “Hmm. Really though, why haven’t you taken the mask off yet? I’m pretty sure you’ve moved past hating everyone silently.”

He doesn’t have a reason beyond being a coward. Inigo is watching him expectantly.

“…I’ll take it off. Every once in a while,” he adds quickly.

“Like right now?” prompts Inigo, and Gerome thinks he sees Inigo blush, but without a light he can’t be sure.

“It’s already dark out.”

“True,” Inigo allows, and reaches up to whip Gerome’s mask off of his face.

“Hey!”

“Of course you still have horrible bags under your eyes,” says Inigo, chucking the mask behind him.

“Inigo!”

“I always expect you to have this weird tan line,” continues Inigo, “but nope, just bags under your eyes. Pity.”

“I have been sleeping more,” Gerome defends.

“Great,” Inigo says, smiling.

The atmosphere around them does this sort of thing often, where Gerome feels like he should do something and doesn’t want to admit that he knows what that something is. He decides that he can ignore it like he always does until Inigo uses his toes to nudge at Gerome’s in the water and laughs, short but genuine; there’s no choice after that except to settle a hand on Inigo’s shoulder and lean in to kiss him. Inigo makes a sound in the back of his throat, swaying closer, and Gerome pulls away again, utterly mortified.

“On second thought,” Inigo says, bashful, “maybe you should only take off your mask around me.”


End file.
